Trigun: Blood Valley Stories
by 2ndGenWalrus
Summary: While hunting down Vash, a bounty hunter named Vlad "The Iron Viper" runs into new faces and old enemies. Will Vlad find Vash and claim his bounty? Or will the wasteland take him as an other victim?


Trigun: Blood Valley Stories

Episode 1: Sunset Showdown!

Silence. Silence fell over the town of Sunset, a town usually filled with the cries of merchants, music from the saloon, and the occasional argument between a shop keep and a haggler. But not today, for today, the Reaper himself waltzed into town. A man standing about five foot eleven, wearing a red hood that concealed his face in shadow.

He had a cloth draped over one side of his torso, covering his right arm and barely hiding a revolver. He had the muscle of a ranch hand, and the complexion of a desert traveler. He wore a long-sleeved black button up shirt, and had a curved sword under his left arm. His boots had spurs, but he had no mount. His spurs rattled as he walked towards the saloon. Everyone kept their heads down, all but one man. A blonde man, hair barely touching his shoulder. He wore a white Stetson hat, and had a goatee upon his scar riddled face. He stood to face the hooded man, his hand ready to draw his revolver. "So," said the bearded man, "you finally found me." He had a slight southern drawl. "Didn't think you would make it this far. I'll make sure your tombstone says you were a determined bastard!" Shots from the blonde man's revolver broke the silence, and the people of the saloon hit the ground to avoid being shot in the cross fire. Six shots, he emptied his pistol. The bearded man now stared into a cloud of gray smoke. He sat laughing to himself, saying, "I did it! I actually killed him!" His celebration was interrupted by the sound of spurs rattling. The sound got closer and closer, and as the sound got closer, the bearded man's pleas became louder and louder. "Please," he said. "Please, no! I don't know! I don't know where he went!" The hooded man broke his silence. His deep voice sent chills down the spine of everyone in the saloon. "Then you're useless." In one swift move, the man drew his sword. As his arm pulled the sword in an upward motion, the man's right arm was revealed. An arm made of metal. And from that day on, the people of Sunset would forever have the sound of metal slicing through bone burnt into their memory. This is the sound of legend, the sound of the demon of the Wasteland, the sound of the Reaper of the Desert. There was no mistake. This was he. This was Vlad "The Iron Viper."

Vlad took a piece of paper from his jeans, crossing off the name "Jed Wilkinson." There were ten names on the list, three of which were now crossed out. Vlad then pulled off his hood, which was tattered by the bullets that narrowly missed. Examining the cloth, he stated, "Good thing he had such a bad aim, or else I'd be gone." With his hood removed, the men cowering in the saloon had a perfect view of the swordsman. He had dark black hair that was disheveled, as if he had just woken up. His metal arm looked almost like a real arm, matching his body perfectly. There seemed to be no bolts or parts sticking out. His eyes were a dark green, and were moving from the cloth to the bartender hiding under the bar. "Hey," said Vlad, using a softer tone. "Where's this towns mechanic? I want to collect this poor souls bounty and have my arm looked at." The bartender, still shaken by the fight replied, "Ye-yeah, it's just down the road, east end." "Thanks." Another man stood up to speak with Vlad. "I can take you to the sheriff if you'd like. It's the least I could do to thank you for getting rid of that bastard Jed." So the two men walked down the street to the sheriff. Vlad carried the body of Jed, with his body slung over his shoulder and head held by his long blonde hair. "So what brings you 'round here?" Asked the escort. "We don't get many bounty hunters in Blood Valley, 'less they're crazy or stupid." Vlad showed the sheriff the head as to identify the body. He picked up his one hundred dollars and proceeded east. "I actually didn't come out here for Jed and his friends," said Vlad. "They aren't my main targets, at least" He pulled out a wanted poster from his bill fold. On it was a picture of Vash The Stampede. "I'm looking for this man. Has he come by your town at all?" The escort examined the poster then looked up with a smile. "I don't know," he said in a joking voice, "Does this place look leveled to you?" "So he hasn't been here?" "No," the man pointed west, "But I hear he hit a town just a couple of miles west. He should be heading south from there." The man got a look of confusion on his face. "Why in God's name are you looking for Vash, anyway?" Vlad, now walking through the door to the dust-filled waiting room of the mechanic's, gave a smile and responded, "Are you kidding? Sixty billion double dollars! That's enough to get myself a nice place and settle down, be done with this killing business." The man turned to leave the stuffy room. "Well, this is it." He looked at Vlad, smiling. "If ya' need a place to stay, I can give you a room at my inn for the night, isn't gonna cost you anything." Vlad decided to take him up on this offer. Later that night, Vlad made his way to the inn. It turned out that a cog in his arm had been damaged by a close range gunshot. It only cost him about fifty dollars to replace it. He made sure to tell the story to all the guests in the lobby that night, along with a few other tales of his travels. After a good night's sleep, he went into town to buy a bandolier, a poncho, and a black Stetson to replace the cloth ripped by Jed's lousy aim. He then gave one last farewell to the town of Sunset, and headed west on foot. _First, Crow, _thought Vlad, _then Vash. _

Will Vlad find Vash? Who is Crow? Why is Vlad after him?

Find out in the next installment of Trigun: Blood Valley Stories.


End file.
